The Last Hunter: Collected Edition (Antarktos Saga #1-5)

“You’re smiling,” I note.

“A side effect of spending time with our brother,” Xin says. “He softens the heart.” He nods to me. “Much like you.”

“Hey,” Luca says, sounding excited. “Em! You’re hair!” He looks at Kainda. “Yours too!”

“Guess you didn’t see that part,” I say.

“Uh-uh.”

Xin inches closer to Em. He reaches out a hand to touch her hair, but she flinches away. He seems to not notice and whispers, “It works...”

I take the shofar from Kat and carefully unwrap it. Xin marvels over it, but doesn’t touch it. What would the horn do to Xin? I wonder. He’s part Nephilim, but he’s also part human. He has no hair to speak of, but the Nephilim corruption is no doubt rooted in him as well.

“You can be free,” I say, raising the horn toward Xin and placing it to my lips. I close my eyes and fill my lungs.

“Wait—” Xin starts, but I’ve already begun to blow. The sound echoes through the chamber. The cresties respond to it with roars, but they don’t move.

When I open my eyes and lower the horn, Xin is gone. For a second, I think I’ve somehow obliterated him, but then I hear a shifting sound to my left. Xin steps out from behind a tall, stone outcrop.

Can you hear me? he asks in my mind.

Yes, I reply.

He seems relieved by the answer.

“Why did you move?” I ask.

“We don’t know what effect the Jericho shofar will have on me. If it removes the Nephilim corruption fully, I could die. I could lose my mental abilities. When the battle is won, we can see what happens. Until then, I must remain as I am.”

“He clings to his corruption,” Kainda remarks.

“No,” I say. “He loathes it as much as you both did.” I look her and Em in the eyes. “He is making a sacrifice. For me. For both of you. For all of us. I trust him with my life. With Luca’s life. He is my brother, and I expect both of you to trust him as such. We cannot be divided by the hatred of the world we knew. We are better than that, and you both have been freed from it.”

Neither of them reply. They have no argument against what I’ve said, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow and the change will take time, so I let that be the end of it for now.

I give the shofar back to Kat and let her wrap it back up. She’s become its protector. I didn’t ask her to take on the job, but she carries the horn at all times and even rests with it in her arms. It never leaves her side except for when I ask for it. Maybe she simply recognizes its worth, but I suspect she sees the shofar as the object for which Wright gave his life, and now she’s protecting it with hers. Whatever the reason, I appreciate it. “Thanks,” I tell her.

“We should go,” Xin says. “The path to the surface is long. Nephilim forces are gathering at Asgard and I suspect Nephil will strike within the week. It will be our last stand. If we cannot stop him, the war will be lost.”

“We’ll stop him,” I say. “He’s felt the horn’s power.”

“Which is why he will strike with everything he has. Warriors. Thinkers. Gatherers. Even feeders. Every Nephilim tribe and the horrors they possess will be brought against mankind, first for possession of you, and then the world.” He turns his head to the dinosaurs. He says nothing, but four of the larger specimens break formation and stomp toward us. Each is fitted with a seat and a harness.

I let out a laugh. Justin would have loved this.

The dinosaurs split up and stop in front of each of us. When Xin mounts the one in front of me, I give him a quizzical look.

“Grumpy is yours,” he says. “Always has been.”

Kainda grumbles as she mounts the dinosaur provided her, but she looks absolutely amazing once she’s sitting atop its back, like some kind of Edgar Rice Burroughs jungle queen. The dinosaur tilts its head up and roars. Perhaps understanding the power she now wields, Kainda grins wickedly. She looks at me and says, “Name it.”

My smile is impossible to hide, but I manage not to tease her about wanting to name animals now. The dinosaur she rides is a female, perhaps twenty-seven feet long. Second in size only to Grumpy. Sticking with my childhood cartoon theme, I say, “Zok.”

“Zok,” Kainda says, testing the word. Then she leans toward the cresty’s head and says, “Come, Zok. To the surface!”

To my amazement, the creature obeys, turning round and heading across the cavern. The rest of us follow, close behind. As we pass through the army of dinosaurs, they split to make room for us, but they don’t let us pass all the way through. Instead, they surround us, a moving protective barrier.

Luca laughs as he clings to Em’s back. This is as fun for him as it would be for any six year old boy—or is he seven now? I’m not even sure when his birthday is. Em looks a little worried, but she’s managing. Kat, riding next to them, looks like her normally focused self, neither enjoying nor fearing the ride on the back of a dinosaur.